redware barrel by Jacob BockThis small redware barrel by Jacob Bock is signed "1827 Waterloo." Bock, who lived in Wilmot Township, was one of the earliest documented potters in Ontario
PHOTO SOURCE: JOSEPH SCHNEIDER HAUS, REGION OF WATERLOO/PRIVATE COLLECTION

Jacob Bock, "was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, February 18th, 1798. He came to Canada when a mere lad and made his home with his uncle, Christian Reichart, who resided at Freeport, Ontario. He was married to Catharine daughter of old John and Elizabeth (Diefenbacher) Shupe. She was born March 29th 1798, and died May 2nd, 1869. He died March 18th 1867. The resided near New Dundee, Ontario, on the farm now possessed by Mr. David E. Bergey. To them was born a family of fifteen children"

Eby, Ezra E. (1895). A biographical history of Waterloo township and other townships of the county: being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin : as also much other unpublished historical information chiefly of a local character. Berlin [Kitchener, Ont.]: [s.n.].

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On the 18th of March, in Wilmot Township, Waterloo Co., C.W., JACOB BOCK, aged 78 years and one month. He leaves a widow and ten children to mourn their loss. Funeral sermons were preached by the brethren George Smith and Moses Bowman. He was a Deacon in the Mennonite Church for 24 years. L.B.

HERALD OF TRUTH - Volume IV, Number 5 - May 1867 - Page 78

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Jacob Bock's Will:

The last will and testament of Jacob Bock the Elder of the Township of Wilmot in the County of Waterloo, in the Province of Upper Canada. I Jacob Bock considering the uncertainty of this mortal life and being yet of sound mind and memory thanks be to God for the same, do make and publish this my last will and testament in the following manner and form.

First, I will that my funeral expenses and other lawful debts shall as soon as may be paid by hereinafter named Executor out of my Estate. I will that after my death my beloved wife Katharine shall have and own and possess all the household furniture together with all and singular the effects commodities and income from the farm on which we now live and every property that I may be in possession of at my death the same to have and to hold for her own use and benefit as long as she shall live.

I Will that after her death all the household furniture and all her private property shall he appraised and sold by my after named executor to the best advantage either public or private as to him shall seem most fit and proper. I also will that my daughter Magdalena shall have the sum of One Hundred Dollars and the privilege of taking any article at the appraisment for her own use, all this over and above her lawful share.

I Will that one year after the demise of myself and wife my Estate shall be settled and a division made among all my children so they all receive ever equal and alike, and concerning the legacy in my favor from my Brother John's Estate in the State of Pennsylvania when that becomes due and is collected then I Will that that also be divided even equal and alike, and lastly that Wendle Hallman of the Township of Wilmot in the County of Waterloo and Province of Upper Canada be constituted and appointed the Executor of this my last will and Testament and he is hereby enpowered to collect debts grant receipts and to do my thing and everything that may be required in settling up the Estate, revoking all former wills heretofore by me made.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this twenty ninth day of January one thousand eight hundred and sixty one.

Signed, Jacob Bock

Signed sealed published pronounced and declared by the said Jacob Bock as his last will and testament in the presence of us, who in his presence and in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed their names.
Signed, John Hallman; Jacob Bock, Junior.

Dr. Bird, an associate professor of Religious Studies at Renison College, University of Waterloo, has made an extensive study of Germanic folk arts and crafts in Ontario and is the author of a number of books and articles dealing with the subject.

The tradition of village craftsmanship was particularly strong throughout the 19th century in Waterloo County, supported by the German settlers and their descendants who patronized local cabinetmakers, blacksmiths, weavers and potters. Of special interest is a Mennonite craftsman who produced redware pottery in the 1820s, making him the earliest known potter of Waterloo County, and one of the earliest in Upper Canada.

During the early waves of emigration from Pennsylvania to Waterloo Township, numerous talented craftsmen brought with them the necessary skills required by a fledgling community along the Grand River. Among these early settlers appears the name of Jacob Bock, a Pennsylvania-German Mennonite whose family made the trek from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to Canada in the early 1800s. According to the account of local historian Ezra E. Eby, Jacob Bock came to Canada when a mere lad and made his home with his uncle, Christian Reichert, who resided at Freeport, Ontario.(Footnote 1) Married to Catharine Shupe (1798-1869), he lived in the Freeport area until eventually moving a few miles further to the west, where he took up farming near New Dundee, settling on the farm later owned by David E. Bergey.

Throughout his life, Jacob Bock was to serve the local community in various capacities, including both civic and religious functions. In 1823 he was appointed township clerk, a task he performed until 1827, when the position was filled by David Clemens. (Footnote 2) Bock returned to these duties in later years. In a letter written in 1844 to his brothers John and David, of Greencastle, Pennsylvania, Jacob narrates the following interesting story:

I myself have now been confined for two weeks with a sore foot. I had for two years to travel our township regularly to take the assessment, and this year on the 8th of March, when on my return home after taking my route, my horse fell with me and bruised my right foot in such a manner that after riding about a mile my foot swelled so that I had to cut the boot to get it off. (Footnote 3)

In addition to his services as township clerk, Jacob Bock accepted, somewhat reluctantly, the township position of superintendent of Common Schools, which he described as a very critical, harassing, difficult, unprofitable and like-wise responsible business, and an imposed task which ...I still expect to get through with credit to myself and without incurring any penalty. (Footnote 4)

That Jacob Bock was a man of strong religious character is attested by family recollection and by notes preserved by descendants, (Footnote 5) and by the fact he was ordained the first deacon in the Blenheim Mennonite Church, assuming that position in 1841. (Footnote 6) He served in this capacity until his death in 1867, when he was succeeded by John Cressman. (Footnote 7)

On the basis of known signed and dated pieces, it appears that the pottery-making career of Jacob Bock was brief and of modest proportion. The positively identifiable crocks from his hand were made within a few short years. Most were made in a single year, 1825, between the dates of January 4 and September 17. One jar is dated 1822, making it possibly the earliest known surviving example of Ontario redware pottery. That pottery-making was a short-lived activity is suggested in the remark by descendants, pottery-making must have been a sideline for him; he was really a farmer first and foremost. (Footnote 8)

Pottery examples attributable to Jacob Bock are few in number, but include several unusual straight-sided earthenware jars with applied decoration in the form of faces and a figure labelled S. Ambrosius. From these pieces it is apparent that he employed a mould with which he was able to fashion identical details. Made of dark earthenware, these jars are finished with transparent glaze. They do not possess the dramatic mottling or spatter technique used by many Germanic potters in Ontario, although the interiors are finished with a black speckling similar to that used by later Waterloo County potters such as William K. Eby (1831-1910) of Conestogo.

The choice of design motifs on the Bock earthenware jars suggests the possibility that he was familiar with comparatively sophisticated European press-moulded ceramics. Such applied figurative details are to be seen also on stoneware pottery. It is not inconceivable that he had seen a single piece from which he adapted general design arrangements used in his own work. The figure of St. Ambrosius, known traditionally as patron saint of bees, is imprinted four times on some jars, while on the September 17, 1825 example it appears twice. Some jars have a small number of applied faces, while the September 17 jar has this detail applied in 46 places around the exterior of the piece! In contrast to much simple utilitarian earthenware of Ontario's Germanic settlements, the pieces made by Jacob Bock present an almost formal appearance, an effect to be achieved again at a much later date by Germanic potters in Huron County who produced urns and flowerpots with applied sprigs and floral embellishments. While Jacob Bock made a very small number of jars during a brief period for localized use, these later potters manufactured a large quantity of decorated earthenware over a lengthy period for comparatively wide distribution.

Two other pre-1830 pottery examples found in Waterloo County are of somewhat less certain attribution. One is a simple storage jar with the date 1820 inscribed on the bottom, found in Preston (Cambridge). Another is a redware barrel, inscribed Waterloo 1827. The signature on this piece, if by the same hand, suggests a production of at least five years. If by another hand, it raises the intriguing possibility of two potters at work in Waterloo Township at an extremely early date.

Although the pottery-making career of Jacob Bock was of short duration, it is interesting that he apparently continued to think of himself as a craftsman until late in life. Indeed, in the 1851 Ontario Census there appears a last descriptive entry: Jacob Bock potter retired craftsman. (Footnote 9)

[S3] Book - Vol I A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., 283.

[S3] Book - Vol I A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., 781.

[S10] Book - Vol II A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., 158.

[S10] Book - Vol II A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., 193.